Interest in the use of network-based systems has increased considerably recently. Servers connected to a network provide a variety of commonly available functions that can be shared or allocated exclusively to each of a plurality of computers or other information-handling systems connected to a common network.
It is often desirable to have a single communications interface definition that is usable whether talking to a locally connected computer such as a tightly-coupled multiprocessor or talking to networked servers, or talking to remote devices. However, when a few well-defined server or other processors are connected locally, it can be desirable to have a thin or lightweight messaging scheme that uses minimal resources and that requires minimal handshaking between the sender and the receiver.
There is a need in the art for an improved apparatus and method for lightweight messaging over a network.